An envelope is used to protect and hide its contents during transit. The window envelope is an exception to this as it exposes a small area so that a name and address can be viewed. A postcard is a single piece of card that normally has space for writing a name, address and message on one side with a photographic print or similar on the other. Conventional postcards are produced in numbers and as a result can only offer impersonal scenes or graphics. The instant invention allows a person to send a photograph, personal or otherwise, in the postcard format. Others have attempted to provide such a device, as indicated below.
Matsuguchi, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,874) disclose a postcard material bearing a label covering at least part of the postcard material. The label has a top material that is at least partly opaque, an inter-layer peel ply formed on the principal surface of the top material, a synthetic resin layer at least partly transparent formed on the principal surface of the inter-layer peel ply and an adhesive layer formed on the principal surface of the synthetic resin layer and which is transparent in the part corresponding to the transparent part of the synthetic resin layer. With this postcard the top material of the label can be peeled off the synthetic resin layer in the part where the interlayer peel ply is formed. Secret information shown on the principal surface of the postcard material is visible through the transparent synthetic resin layer when the top material is peeled off the synthetic resin layer. In contrast to the device of Matsuguchi, the instant invention does not require a peel ply. In addition, the postcard of Matsuguchi is not amenable to the safe and efficient mailing of an item such as a personal photograph, as is the instant invention.
Balogh et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,087) disclose a mailing card that is formed of a single sheet of card stock in which a perforated delineation extends entirely across the sheet of card stock to define first and second portions thereof and to facilitate complete separation of those portions from each other. An opening with at least one transparent window tinted in a fist color is defined in the first portion of the card stock. Matter is printed on the second portion of the card stock in both the color of the window and in at least one other contrasting color. By separating the first and second portions of the card stock, hidden messages printed on the second portion may be viewed through the window in the first portion that masks the matter printed in the same color as the window. The instant invention does not require various shades of tinting and is not designed for reading of hidden messages by viewing one portion of the card through a separated second portion of the card.
Glick (U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,807) provides a postcard formed from a sheet-form member, for example a card, which is provided with a first layer of adhesive. An additional transparent sheet is secured along one edge, preferably its upper edge, to the card and is provided with a second layer of adhesive. A protective sheet is located between the two layers of adhesive to keep them separate. In use, a photograph or other article can be secured and sandwiched between the sheet-form member and the transparent sheet. In contrast, the instant invention does not require that the article be adhered to the postcard.
Murrell (U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,633) provides a photograph mailing postcard having two flap portions is described. This postcard of Murrell requires an adhesive strip for attaching a photograph for viewing through the window in the bottom flap. Adhesive is also provided on the front side of one of the flap portions for adhering the two flap portions together following attachment of the photograph. In contrast, the instant invention does not require the use of an adhesive upon the display surface to hold the item, such as a photograph, in place.
Suttles et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,093) provide a device having first and second panels connected by a hinge joint for folding together. The front surface of the first panel is capable of receiving a design and the rear surface thereof has a paper release sheet covering a pressure sensitive adhesive which holds the photograph in place and also holds the card in folded condition. The front surface of the second panel is a support surface for a photograph and includes a small area of pressure sensitive adhesive for temporarily holding a photograph in place. The rear surface of the second panel comprises a message-address postcard surface. An opening cut through the first panel is arranged to display a photograph there through when the panels are folded shut and held shut by the adhesive on the rear surface of the first panel. In contrast, the instant invention does not require an adhesive upon the display surface to hold the item, such as a photograph, in place.
Davis (U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,852) provides a mailing card comprises first and second card sections which are foldable together. The first card section contains an adhesive surface for carrying an object such as a photograph. A removable backing sheet overlies the adhesive surface. The second card section has an opening situated for general alignment with the adhesive surface when the first and second card sections are in a folded condition. A transparent cover extends across the opening. In contrast, the instant invention does not require an adhesive upon the display surface to hold the item, such as a photograph, in place. In addition, the card material is not folded to seal the item upon the photograph.
Ross (U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,780) provides a postcard entirely covered on one side with adhesive and overlaid with a protective sheet. In contrast, the instant invention does not require an adhesive upon the display surface to hold the item, such as a photograph, in place.
Sabb (U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,881) provides a postcard including relatively rigid panel made of cardboard, or the like, having a writing surface on one side thereof and a photograph display surface on the other side thereof. The photograph display surface has a layer of adhesive thereon to which is secured a clear plastic sheet beneath which a photograph is secured. In contrast, the instant invention does not require that an item, such as a photograph, be adjoined to the card material using an adhesive.
Sorge et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,144) provide a combined picture frame and mailer formed of a single piece of reinforced paper folded along a horizontal axis into two substantially equal halves forming front and back panels. The front panel has a central cutout providing a window behind which the picture is placed and which is covered by a transparent sheet of cellophane. The back panel is provided with flaps about its remaining peripheral edges which fold over the corresponding edges of the front panel, and which are sealed to form a closed thin envelope. The back panel is also provided with fold out legs permitting the frame to stand alone on a flat surface such as a table as well as space in which the user may write a message as on a postcard. In contrast, the instant invention does not require the user to fold the card material to seal the item, such as a photograph, within the postcard. In addition, the user is not required to fold multiple flaps in order to seal the item within the card.